4 Months

 Dear Ben Jammin,

This month you really started smiling and laughing!!! Your new nickname is Mr. Smiley! You rolled over for the first time! You were 3.5 months old! It was so cute too. Halle and I love to come get you in the mornings while you're still cooing. After we change your diaper and get you dressed we usually hang out in your room playing for a while. We were all on the floor reading books and I could tell you were going to do it any minute so I got out my phone to video it. Halle and I were coaching you along and Halle lays down and said all excited, "Look I can do it too". She was so proud of herself! Haha! She started getting frustrated that you weren't doing it and she grabbed your feet while you were on your belly and flipped you right over! You don't seem to mind her messing with you and have gotten pretty used to it. A few minutes later I got you rolling over on video. You banged your head on the carpet and were pretty upset about it and it took you a while to try again. You are such a happy little guy and have brought so much joy into our lives!!! Love you!!

Halloween Time

Halloween is my favorite holiday! There's no stress, no commitments, free candy, good food, and good times to be had! This year we hosted our first neighborhood Halloween party, went to Denver Downs Farm, and trick or treated with friends.

 This year we carved a Clemson tiger paw. Go tigers!

 Halle was a cowgirl with pink hair for the party.

 Here are all of our party guests. We played a skeleton hunt, wrap the mummy, made caramel pops, oreo pumpkin pops, and had mummy drink with mummy hot dogs. It was a blast!

 Denver Downs is a big farm with so many fun activities! The corn maize was really low due to the drought but Halle was pretending to be Dora and had her map and everything. It was too cute!!!

 Donna joined us after work and we went on a hayride to find the most perfect pumpkin in the patch. They also had rope swings in the barn that Halle loved going on all by herself. You are quite the daredevil! 

 What a cutie! This is the dress I made for you last year. Glad it still fit.

 Halle you crack us up! # weeks before Halloween you were trying to decide what you wanted to be. Fro about a week you were torn between a kitchen and a sock. Then you were set on being a sock. Miss. Molly had a huge Christmas stocking that I was going to use as a pattern. I had no idea on how I was going to do it but if that's what you wanted to be then I was going to make your wish come true. Hahahaha!!! You were telling everyone that's what you were going to be and they thought it was hilarious! Then you changed your mind and were set on being your daddy!! Aww that just melted his heart!!!! Everyone you told said it was the cutest thing ever!!! You love your daddy!!! You have the cutest little personality!

 We went with the Woods' in their neighborhood and they hooked a trailer to the back of their golf cart and we got to trick or treat in style!!! It was a blast and you got lots of candy!!!

Camping

Near the end of August the weather was getting just right for camping and we were getting excited to get away into the great outdoors for a few days. I got a little over zealous and decided to go all out. When I was a little girl I remember camping with my family in Helen, Georgia so I wanted to recreate that for us. It was beautiful and fun but we decided that while ya'll are still so little we will stick close to home because it was a lot of work!  But oh so worth it! We loaded up the trailer and brought everything but the kitchen sink. To some it may not be camping but when you have little kids this is roughing it. Ha!  We bought Halle her first fishing pole and picked a campsite right by the pond. We didn't catch anything but you got really good at casting it! You were all about it and it was the first thing you wanted to do when you woke up. 

 Finally getting to relax and enjoy some hot dogs.

 Morning walk to the bathroom and had to stop to catch some fish

 Mmm pancakes for breakfast

 Ben napping in the hammock. You were in heaven being able to be outside all day! 

 Painting rocks and leaves with your new glitter glue.

 Nursing Ben while Halle gives me a beautiful pedicure.

 Pretty toes.

 Daddy showing you how it's done! He did manage to catch a tree and almost fell in trying to free it!

 I love you little man!

 Enjoying camp life!

 We went into Helen and enjoyed the cold river, ate some dinner, shopped and got to pet the horses.

 Enjoying the German feeling of Helen.

 This is all he did...Smile!!! So happy!!

 Roasting ginormous marshmallows!!

 Reading Bailey Goes Camping to my sweet Halle Bird.

 Mike and I stayed up and were very fortunate to witness a cicada metamorphasize! We were mesmorized! We had a lot of fun with this.

 We brought his changing pad for him to sleep on and he woke up at 5am crying because he had wiggled his head right off the edge. Poor little guy.

 Morning walk around camp. Riley had a blast swimming in the pond!!

 These pictures are of our second camping trip. We learned to keep it simple with little kids and spur of the moment planned it. We went to Oconee Point on Lake Hartwell in Seneca. It was five minutes from his parents house and they joined us but didn't stay the night. 

 Getting ready for bed.

 Halle and her grandma!

Cant wait for many more camping memories! 

3 months

                                     

Dear Ben Jammin,

Your little personality is really shining through now! You give us the biggest smiles and the cutest laughs. You coo and talk to us all the time. I discovered your tickle spot and can get you from crying to laughing in a split second. Halle has also discovered how to calm you down. You love when she jumps up and down on the hardwood. I guess the vibrations distract you and calm you down. You are still not a paci baby but you love your blankie and your bunny that your great aunt Nina got you. You love to snuggle them by your face. You also love to suck on your hands. 

You are really trying to roll over. When I lay you on your back you love to wiggle around. The first time I noticed this I left the room for a minute and came back and you were in a totally different spot from when I left you. When we were loading the car to go camping I set you in your car seat but didn't buckle you in. We heard you screaming and daddy ran to you and said you were face down in the car seat. You had turned around to get your eyes out of the sun. Halle said she was trying to help you turn back over. You are definitely the little wiggle worm that you were in the womb. Haha!!You are such an easy baby and so laid back. I love you so much!!!

Here you are with your bunny all snuggled up!!

When you get really tired you love to rub it all over face. Halle loves to play peekaboo with the blankie and you just laugh and laugh. It's so sweet!!

Indoor Camping Adventure

I have been planning a camping trip for next weekend and Mike took Halle to go get her a Dora sleeping bag. When they got home it started to rain so we decided to camp inside and invite the neighbors for day of adventure. I pitched the tent in the living room and the got suggled in and watched Tangled while eating popcorn and gummy worms. After the movie we had hotdogs in the tent and roasted marshmallows over the stove. Then I had a few supplies left over from the Olympics at the lake and we did a few of them. Then we told ghost stories and had a jammie party. At one point Mike and I decided to bang on the tent to scare them. I had Ben in my arms and while I did it and the kids screamed but poor Ben screamed the loudest. Sorry buddy but it was worth it to hear them scream with terror. I'm horrible I know. 

You can barely see little Ben but he enjoyed the day too!

Halle telling ghost stories in her scary mask and flashlight. Haha

She wanted to sleep in the tent instead of her bed so read books in the tent. She did pretty good but came and joined us in our room around 3am.

Blair's Visit

My sister Blair came down for a week to meet her new nephew.  She brought all of her paint supplies and we had a full day of painting in the garage. She painted a pretty "pinkalicious" flower for Halle per her request and a crab for Ben's room. Halle had fun creating her own masterpiece. We visited the pool one day and had fun going down the slides.    

  I had bought Mike a Sips n Strokes groupon for our anniversary but he insisted that I take Blair. haha. We had a blast with our bottle of wine and learned how to paint an awesome guitar. It was a fun time!!

 For the weekend we went to my aunt Connie's lakehouse on Lake Sinclair and had fun visiting family. I am starting a new family tradition of Carlisle Family Olympics. We had a potato sack race, pentathlon, pie eating contest, a game from Minute to Win it, Family Crawl, and water balloon contest. Halle had a blast and couldn't stop asking when we were going to do the games. She loved the potato sack race and looked so cute hopping in her gigantic trash bag. The pie eating contest was very humorous. All the kids and Candi did it and they had whip cream all over and there is my sweet little Halle on her knees crouched over her plate licking the whip cream like a cat drinking milk. She does not like to get messy. haha. The closing ceremonies consisted of Colin doing a magic show. He was pretty impressive and gave all the kids a chance to assist him.

We swam, ate lots of good food, kayaked, jet skiied, and enjoyed eachothers company. I love our family!! On our way down Ben didn't make a peep. He slept the whole way only waking to take a bottle and poor Halle halfway through asked if we would just drop her off on the side of the road.  Then we got to listen to Halle scream for the last 20 minutes on the three hour drive back home. 

Ben's first boat ride. I think it's safe to say he loved it!! He slept like this for at least two hours!!

Colin the Magician and Halle

Ben working on his tummy time (2 months)

One night we were all hanging on the dock before bedtime and Halle had us all lined up in chairs and was telling us stories about princesses and frogs. She would get so funny when we weren't listening and shush us and tell us "guys you're making me frustrated!' She would also say "be quiet or I'll nail your feet to floor", because Blair told her a really funny joke about a duck asking a store for duck food over and over and then the owner was fed up and said if you ask one more time I'll nail your webbed feet to the floor. Haha She had Blair tell that joke at least twenty times during her visit and Blair happily obliged.

Mimi (91) and my fam.

Mimi is so cute and when we arrived she asked Blair what grade she was going into. Haha she's a nut!! On the way home I asked Halle what her favorite part of the trip was and with no hesitation she said Aunt Blair. Love it!!!